Gates back on stand in Utah in $1B antitrust trial

Microsoft co-founder and chairman Bill Gates leaves the Frank E. Moss federal courthouse in Salt Lake City, Monday, Nov. 21, 2011. Gates testified in a $1 billion anti-trust lawsuit brought by Novell Inc. (AP Photo/Jim Urquhart)

Microsoft co-founder and chairman Bill Gates leaves the Frank E. Moss federal courthouse in Salt Lake City, Monday, Nov. 21, 2011. Gates testified in a $1 billion anti-trust lawsuit brought by Novell Inc. (AP Photo/Jim Urquhart)

Microsoft founder Bill Gates arrives at the Frank E. Moss federal courthouse in Salt Lake City, Monday, Nov. 21, 2011. Gates was scheduled to testify in a one billion dollar antitrust lawsuit brought by Novell Inc. Gates, wearing a gray suit and a yellow tie, was the first witness to testify as Microsoft lawyers presented their case in the trial that's been ongoing in federal court in Salt Lake City for about a month.(AP Photo/Jim Urquhart)

John Pinette, left, and Microsoft founder Bill Gates arrives at the Frank E. Moss federal courthouse in Salt Lake City, Monday, Nov. 21, 2011. Microsoft's Windows 95 rollout presented the most challenges in the company's history, leading to several last-minute changes to technical features that would no longer support a rival software maker's word processor, Bill Gates testified Monday in a $1 billion antitrust lawsuit filed by the creator of WordPerfect. (AP Photo/Jim Urquhart)

(AP) ? Microsoft's Bill Gates insisted that changes to Windows 95 that undermined a rival word processor were meant to protect the Windows operating system from crashing and not to hurt a competitor.

Gates completed a second day of testimony Tuesday defending his company against a $1 billion antitrust lawsuit filed by Novell Inc. The Utah-based company claims Microsoft Corp. enticed it to work on a new version of the WordPerfect writing program only to withdraw support months before Windows 95 was released.

Gates said he had no idea his decision to drop a tool for outside developers would sidetrack Novell and that the company never complained. WordPerfect's market share rapidly declined to less than 10 percent from nearly 50 percent as Microsoft's own office programs took hold.

"Whether or not our products get market share ? that was completely up to the market," said Gates, who argued Novell could have worked around the problem but failed to react quickly.

Microsoft, he said, was under no obligation to help Novell, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Attachmate Group as a result of a merger earlier this year.

Novell said it was forced to sell WordPerfect for a $1.2 billion loss. It sued Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft in 2004, claiming Gates ordered engineers to withdraw support for WordPerfect because he feared it was too good.

On Tuesday, Gates shot back that Word was "far superior" to WordPerfect, which was a "bulky, slow, buggy product" that did not integrate well with Windows 95. Gates said his engineers warned it threatened the reliability of future Windows versions.

For hours Tuesday, Gates sparred with Novell's trial attorney over software terms as jury members yawned in boredom.

"He's not an easy witness," said Novell attorney Jeffrey Johnson.

Gates insisted there was no viable alternative to the Windows operating system in the market at the time, which would mean Novell does not have an antitrust case.

Other systems lacked enough applications to be a "reasonable choice in the marketplace," he said.

Gates testified that Microsoft was racing to put out a new generation of Windows when he dropped a tool Novell said it needed to piggyback on the Windows 95 juggernaut. While some executives opposed his decision ? Microsoft traditionally gave the keys to outside developers ? other company developers warned it threatened the stability of new Windows technology.

Gates described his decision as a minor technical matter as he grappled with larger issues. He was betting on a revolutionary operating system code-named Cairo ? an alternative so ambitious that Gates said it hasn't been achieved 20 years later. Cairo would have allowed multiple applications to run seamlessly inside an operating system, rather than as an adjunct to it.

Gates advanced Windows 95 to the forefront and called it a worthy successor.

"We worked super hard. It was the most challenging, trying project we had ever done," the Microsoft co-founder said. "It was a ground-breaking piece of work, and it was very well received when we got it done."

Gates was the first witness to testify in his company's defense after a monthlong case by Novell.

Asked outside of court to characterize Novell's case, he said, "I'll leave that to the lawyers."

Microsoft attorney David Tulchin said, "We think we're way ahead and that Bill Gates did a great job."

The trial resumes Monday with Microsoft calling other witnesses.

U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz said he expects to send the case to a seven-woman, five-man jury the week before Christmas.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2011-11-22-Antitrust%20Lawsuit-Microsoft/id-9105181278b64bafbe3ef4d560b23a35

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Pressure for fast action after Spain election (Reuters)

MADRID (Reuters) ? Spain's next prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, kept his silence Monday on his plans to rescue the country from economic disaster despite pressure from anxious Spaniards and impatient investors following his election triumph.

The landslide victory of his conservative People's Party's at the polls Sunday failed to lift markets, who fear Spain could go the way of other euro zone members in having to resort to an international bail-out.

Angry voters punished the outgoing Socialists for a crisis that has pushed unemployment in Spain to more than 20 percent, the highest in the European Union.

But with Rajoy not due to take office until December, markets are desperate for details on his strategy.

The spread between yields on Spanish government bonds and safe haven German bunds widened by more than 20 basis points to around 470 Monday. Ten-year yields were higher, hitting 6.58 percent and creeping closer to the perilous 7 percent level that forced Greece, Portugal and Ireland to seek bailouts.

"The need for immediate action from the new government is pressing, with Spain's bond yields at punishingly high levels," IHS Global Insight economist Raj Badiani said in a research note.

Spain's second recession in two years is looming. Funcas research foundation cut its growth outlook for next year to a negative 0.5 percent from a positive 1.0 percent, citing the effect of government spending cuts to meet deficit targets.

Ordinary Spaniards also worried about just how hard promised austerity measures would hit them.

"I think there will be people in the street when they see what they are going to do," said Jose Antonio Garcia, a 28-year-old left-wing voter.

CHANGES

Rajoy, a 56-year-old former Interior Minister, has indicated he plans labor market and a financial reforms as well as sweeping changes in the public sector, but in the election campaign gave no clear policy lines, relying instead on the Socialists' failings to propel him into power.

Since his victory he has only said that there will be no miracles to fix the crisis.

"The fact that investors have to wait another month for Mr Rajoy's cabinet to take the reins only adds to the uncertainty," said Nicholas Spiro of Spiro Sovereign Strategy.

However, Jaime Garcia Legaz, an economist at the PP's think-tank, said he expected Rajoy would announce "shock measures" before the formal handover.

Miguel Arias Canete, who is tipped for a cabinet post, hinted that Rajoy's team could coordinate with the outgoing Socialists to avoid a hiatus.

"When a legal system like the Spanish one allows for such a long transition period of a month and there is huge global financial and economic instability, you need to bypass the strictly legal requirements and coordinate very closely over the measures which need to be taken," he said.

PROTESTS?

Spaniards are resigned to a battery of reforms to resuscitate the economy that could make things worse before they get better and at least initially increase unemployment, with 5 million people already out of work.

The PP won the biggest majority for any party in three decades, taking 186 seats in the 350-seat lower house.

But small leftist parties also enjoyed a premium from the Socialist rout, with many voters turning to them rather than the conservatives, who they fear will slash Spain's treasured national health and education systems.

Earlier this year tens of thousands of people dubbed "Indignados" (Indignants) occupied town squares across the country in demonstrations against their social and economic plight.

The rallies dropped off before the election but anger may well boil over again when Rajoy's measures become clear.

"The result is outstanding for the right... but it also reflects huge discontent. I think they will do what they like in parliament but people will be out on the street," said Madrid taxi driver Tomas Ruiz, 29.

The Socialists slumped to 111 seats from 169 in the outgoing parliament, their worst showing in 30 years. Voters blamed the Socialists for reacting too late to a collapsed housing boom which has left the nation sliding toward its second recession in two years.

It was the fifth euro zone government to be toppled this year by a debt crisis that now seems out of the control of vulnerable individual countries, with Spain following Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Italy.

Peter Goves, interest rate strategist at Citi, said the real solution to the euro zone crisis lay outside Spain.

"The wider systemic issues will have to solved at a euro zone head level," he said, echoing a widely held view.

The Spanish Treasury heads back to the markets with debt auctions Tuesday and Thursday this week, the first key tests of confidence in Rajoy's leadership.

Economic gloom dominated the election campaign, with more than 40 percent of young Spaniards unable to find work and a million people at risk of losing their homes to the banks.

When the Socialists took power in 2004 Spain was riding a construction boom fueled by cheap interest rates, infrastructure projects and foreign demand for vacation homes on the country's sunny coastlines.

But the government, consumers and companies were engulfed in debt when the building sector collapsed in 2007, leaving the landscape dotted with vacant housing developments, empty airports and underused highways.

Many Spaniards saw no reason for joy just because of the election result.

Oscar Ortega, a 38-year-old building concierge, said: "I want to believe that they are going to help us but it seems to me to be a shame to celebrate a victory in the situation we are in. I don't know what those people in the street last night were celebrating. Let's do that when we have a solution."

(Additional reporting by Elisabeth O'Leary, Paul Day, Tomas Cobos, Emma Pinedo, Judy MacInnes; Writing by Angus MacSwan, Editing by Barry Moody)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111121/wl_nm/us_spain_election

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Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs Safe for Long-Term Use, Study Finds (HealthDay)

TUESDAY, Nov. 22 (HealthDay News) -- British researchers have good news for anyone taking the cholesterol-lowering medications known as statins: These drugs are effective and safe, even when used for long periods of time, they say.

The 11-year study found that simvastatin (brand name Zocor) reduced the risk of cardiovascular disease by almost one-quarter. In addition, the researchers found no increase in illness or deaths from cancer or other non-vascular causes.

"All those at increased vascular risk should start taking statins early and continue taking them long term," said the study's lead author, Dr. Richard Bulbulia, a consultant vascular surgeon and research fellow in the clinical trial service unit at the University of Oxford in England.

"This will maximize the reductions in heart attacks, strokes and other vascular diseases, and is safe," said Bulbulia, who added that the study's findings should provide reassurance to physicians and their patients.

There are numerous other drugs in this class of medication, and Bulbulia said, "it seems reasonable to assume that [this study's findings] should hold true for other currently prescribed statins." Other commonly used statins include Lipitor, Crestor and Mevacor.

Results of the study are published in the Nov. 23 online issue of The Lancet. Funding for the study was provided by the U.K. Medical Research Council, the British Heart Foundation, Merck & Co. (manufacturer of Zocor) and Roche Vitamins.

The study looked at the long-term safety of simvastatin because some research suggested that the rates of some cancers and non-vascular health conditions were increased in people who had lower levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol.

Initially, the study recruited more than 20,500 people who had a high risk of heart disease and other cardiovascular problems for a trial of simvastatin versus a placebo. The study volunteers were between 40 and 80 years old.

Half the group was randomly assigned to take 40 milligrams of simvastatin daily, while the other half took a placebo. At the end of the treatment phase of the trial, which lasted about five years, study participants were encouraged to continue on their study treatment for as long as another six years. About 17,500 of the initial participants continued in the follow-up phase, according to the report.

People taking simvastatin reduced their "bad" cholesterol an average of 1 millimole per liter over five years. This reduction translated into a 23 percent drop in the risk of major cardiovascular events, such as heart attack and stroke, the researchers said. This benefit continued throughout the follow-up, reported the study.

When the researchers examined the data from the treatment and follow-up phases for evidence of any increases in non-vascular events, such as cancer, they found no significant differences between the two groups.

"Statin therapy appears safe, with no hazards, such as an excess risk of cancer or other major non-vascular morbidity or mortality emerging during the 11-year post-trial period," said Bulbulia.

Another expert praised statins' record.

"I think the statin drugs are an extraordinary class of medications, and a necessity in Western populations, where there is less physical exercise and more calorie consumption," said Dr. Howard Weintraub, clinical director of the Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City.

"These are very safe drugs, and this study demonstrates that safety, and that the vascular protection continues well beyond the termination of treatment," said Weintraub.

"I think the picture for cardiovascular disease would be very different if these drugs weren't a part of our armamentarium," he added.

More information

Learn more about statins from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20111123/hl_hsn/cholesterolloweringdrugssafeforlongtermusestudyfinds

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Ex-AIG CEO's company suing government over bailout

(AP) ? A company run by the former CEO of American International Group Inc. is suing the government for $25 billion in damages over its taxpayer bailout of the big insurer.

Former AIG CEO Maurice "Hank" Greenberg's current company ? Starr International ? filed lawsuits Monday in federal courts against the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The suits accuse the government of taking valuable assets from AIG's shareholders without their consent or fair compensation, in exchange for the government's 80 percent stake in the company. The suit says the government's actions violate parts of the Fifth Amendment.

Much of the $182 billion in rescue money went to pay AIG's obligations to big banks.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2011-11-21-AIG%20Bailout-Lawsuit/id-abb0690cd4af44809c88f2509f1b9a30

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U.S. to name Iran area of "money laundering concern" (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? The U.S. Treasury Department plans to designate Iran as an area of "primary money laundering concern" on Monday, a U.S. official said, a move that will prompt new steps to isolate Tehran from the international financial system.

The moves are expected to be coordinated with Canada and Britain, where the finance ministry ordered all UK financial institutions to stop doing business with their Iranian counterparts and the Iranian central bank.

The United States is not expected to add Iran's central bank, Bank Markazi, to its formal sanctions list, which could effectively cut it off from the international financial system, cause oil prices to spike higher and hurt U.S. economic recovery

But a U.S. official said the declaration is aimed at signaling to foreign governments and financial institutions that they must wind down their ties to Iran, with tougher sanctions to come down the road.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will outline the new steps against Iran at 4:30 p.m. EST (2130 GMT) at the State Department in Washington, the Treasury Department said.

Under Section 311 of the U.S. Patriot Act, such a designation allows the United States to take a range of "special measures" against a jurisdiction as a whole, an institution, a class of transactions or a type of account.

The decision, first reported by ABC News and the Wall Street Journal, follows a November 8 report by the U.N. nuclear watchdog that presented intelligence suggesting Iran had worked on designing an atomic bomb and may still be secretly carrying out related research.

That report, calls by U.S. lawmakers to sanction Iran's central bank and media speculation of a possible Israeli strike against Iran's nuclear sites have all pushed the Obama administration to look for tougher sanctions against Tehran.

The Treasury Department is expected to impose formal sanctions on dozens of other entities newly revealed to be supporting Iran's nuclear program, including those involved in the development of centrifuges and a reactor in Arak said to be aimed at producing plutonium.

The Obama administration suspects that Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapons capability under cover of its civilian atomic energy program. Tehran denies this, saying it has no interest in nuclear arms and its atomic program is purely peaceful.

The United States is also expected to unveil sanctions against Iran's petrochemical sector on Monday, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday, and European nations are expected to follow suit.

Senator Mark Kirk, a Republican, welcomed the administration's move, but called on Congress to pass his proposal to sanction financial institutions that do business with Iran's central bank.

"The Central Bank of Iran is a terrorist bank actively engaged in illicit activities and I welcome the Administration's decision to put the world on notice. Now we need to move forward with bipartisan legislation to collapse this terrorist bank and stop Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons before it's too late," Kirk said in a statement emailed to Reuters.

Britain's sanctions appeared to go further, ordering all but humanitarian transactions and personal remittances to stop.

British Finance Minister George Osborne said Iran's actions posed a serious threat to national security and the action was being taken in coordination with other countries.

"We believe the Iranian regime's actions pose a significant threat to the UK's national security and the international community. Today's announcement is a further step to preventing the Iranian regime from acquiring nuclear weapons," Osborne said.

The move will prohibit UK credit and financial institutions from entering into transactions or business relationships with banks incorporated in Iran and their branches and subsidiaries.

Firms with existing transactions and business relationships with Iranian banks can apply for a license to do business, but these only cover humanitarian activities, personal remittances and provision of some insurance and reinsurance.

RELUCTANCE TO DISRUPT OIL MARKETS

According to the U.S. Treasury website, the United States has previously designated three jurisdictions as of "primary money laundering concern" -- Myanmar, Nauru and Ukraine.

When applied to a specific institution, such a designation can have devastating consequences. In 2005, the United States designated Macau-based bank Banco Delta Asia as a primary money laundering concern because of its dealings with North Korea.

When the United States later allowed BDA to return more than $20 million in frozen assets to North Korea, it had great difficulty finding a bank to carry out the transfer because most feared losing access to the U.S. financial sector.

The range of "special measures" permitted under U.S. law appears to give the Obama administration fairly wide latitude on how to tailor any restrictions.

According to the 2003 designation of Myanmar, which the U.S. government refers to by its colonial name Burma, such steps can allow the Treasury to obtain more information about the designated jurisdiction, better monitor transactions with it or bar U.S. financial institutions from dealing with it.

U.S. officials say there has been a debate within the Obama administration about whether to formally sanction the Iranian central bank, which many importers of Iranian crude oil use to clear their transactions.

(Additional reporting by Susan Cornwell in Washington and Fiona Shaikh in London; Editing by Jackie Frank)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iran/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111121/pl_nm/us_iran_usa_sanctions

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Asian shares fall, U.S. deficit deadlock weighs (Reuters)

TOKYO (Reuters) ? Asian shares fell on Monday as uncertainty remained over how euro zone leaders would respond to mounting funding difficulties for European banks, and an apparent failure by U.S. politicians to agree on deficit reduction hurt sentiment.

The U.S. congressional deficit-reduction committee was set to formally announce its three-month-long effort to bridge partisan differences over taxation and spending has failed, aides told Reuters.

Automatic spending cuts of $1.2 trillion over a decade are due to start in 2013, after elections in 2012, if the "super committee" of six Democrats and six Republicans cannot agree.

"It is a minor negative, there are a few questions to be asked -- do Moody's and Fitch for example move to downgrade the U.S.," said HSBC's head of global equity strategy, Garry Evans.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) extended its losses to fall 1.7 percent, after posting its biggest weekly loss in about two months last week. Japan's Nikkei (.N225) fell 0.3 percent. (.T)

European shares were set to fall, with spreadbetters seeing London's FTSE 100 (.FTSE) opening down 0.9 percent and Frankfurt's DAX (.GDAXI) and Paris' CAC-40 (.FCHI) down 0.8 percent. (.EU) (.L)

Comments from Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan warning that the global economic outlook was grim also hurt Asian equity markets, particularly Hong Kong, where the Hang Seng index (.HSI) fell 1.9 percent.

LOW EXPECTATIONS

Market expectations for a U.S. deficit deal were low, but a failure of the committee could remind investors of the risks posed by a dysfunctional U.S. government.

The committee was created after a battle over the federal government's debt ceiling nearly shut it down and led to a first-ever cut in the United States' AAA credit rating by Standard & Poor's in the summer, roiling financial markets.

Europe's messy politics, however,, appeared to be heading in the direction of carrying out vital fiscal reforms, offering some relief to investors.

The euro drifted 0.1 percent higher to $1.3525 on Monday, partly helped by a 0.1 percent drop in the dollar index (.DXY) against six key currencies.

In Spain, the center-right opposition People's Party won a crushing election victory and was expected to push through drastic austerity measures to try to prevent Spain being sucked deeper into the debt storm threatening the euro zone.

"Those policies would undoubtedly be welcomed by markets, yet may not be enough to stabilize the Spanish sovereign," Barclays Capital analysts said in a research note. "Ultimately, we think it is likely that the ECB will need to step up its support."

In Italy, Prime Minister Mario Monti won an overwhelming vote of confidence on Friday after warning politicians against sabotaging a sweeping package of fiscal reforms.

But political wrangling in Greece, which has teetered on the brink of default and set off the panic selling now widespread in bonds of other highly-indebted euro zone members, threatened the new prime minister's bid to win vital bailout funds from European leaders.

PRESSURE ON ECB RISING

Italian and Spanish government bond yields eased on Friday, after the European Central Bank intervened in markets to alleviate pressure from investors demanding higher premiums.

The ECB has resisted rising pressures to step up purchases of euro zone sovereign debt, or the idea of lending to the International Monetary Fund to bail out troubled euro zone economies, despite a growing market perception of the bank as the last hope to stop the debt crisis from spreading globally.

Reflecting worsening dollar funding strains for European banks, euro/dollar three-month cross-currency basis swaps widened further on Friday to -138.50 basis points, the most since the height of the Lehman crisis in 2008.

The premium for the three-month dollar offered interbank lending rate hit the widest since June 2009.

"The probability is quite high that European woes will further shrink global capital markets, aggravating interbank funding strains and drying up investment flows," said Bob Takai, general manager of Sumitomo Corp's energy division.

Sentiment remained cautious in Asian credit markets, with spreads on the iTraxx Asia ex-Japan investment grade index widening around 3 basis points on Monday.

In a sign of risk aversion, investors put fresh cash into U.S. equities, bonds and precious metals funds, along with a big allocation to inflation-protected bond funds to 80-week high of $512 million in the week ended November 16, data from EPFR Global showed on Friday.

(Editing by Alex Richardson)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/eurobiz/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111121/bs_nm/us_markets_global

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Officials say 32 homes destroyed in Reno fire

Emergency personnel respond to a wildfire in Reno, Nev. Friday, Nov. 18, 2011. Nevada firefighters are battling a wind-whipped wildfire that has already burned several homes and caused several injuries. Reno Fire Chief Michael Hernandez sayfire crews are having a tough time "getting ahead of" the 400-acre blaze. He also says flames broke off into two areas in Caughlin Ranch. Hernandez says about a dozen homes have burned. (AP Photo/The Reno Gazette-Journal, Tim Dunn) NEVADA APPEAL OUT; NO SALES

Emergency personnel respond to a wildfire in Reno, Nev. Friday, Nov. 18, 2011. Nevada firefighters are battling a wind-whipped wildfire that has already burned several homes and caused several injuries. Reno Fire Chief Michael Hernandez sayfire crews are having a tough time "getting ahead of" the 400-acre blaze. He also says flames broke off into two areas in Caughlin Ranch. Hernandez says about a dozen homes have burned. (AP Photo/The Reno Gazette-Journal, Tim Dunn) NEVADA APPEAL OUT; NO SALES

Firefighters battle a 400-acre brush fire in south Reno, Nev., on Friday, Nov. 18, 2011. The fire raged through more than 400 acres, claimed at least one life, injured several others, destroyed dozens of homes and blanketed Reno and its suburban enclaves in a fiery curtain as violent winds sidelined firefighters and rescue helicopters. (AP Photo/Cathleen Allison)

Water from a fire department hose forms a cloud above a home burning on Star Meadows Loop during the Caughlin Fire in southwest Reno, Nev. Friday, Nov. 18, 2011. The blaze raged through more than 400 acres, claimed at least one life, injured several others, destroyed 20 homes and blanketed Reno and its suburban enclaves in a fiery curtain as violent winds sidelined firefighters and rescue helicopters. (AP Photo/Reno Gazette-Journal, David B. Parker)

A home on Windy Hill in south Reno, Nev., was one of at least 25 homes destroyed by a 2,000-acre brush fire Friday, Nov. 18, 2011. Although it is contained, the fire continues to burn in high winds with gusts up to 60-mph. (AP Photo/Cathleen Allison)

As high winds blow debris past a firefighter during the Caughlin Fire in southwest Reno, Nev. Friday, Nov. 18, 2011. The blaze raged through more than 400 acres, claimed at least one life, injured several others, destroyed 20 homes and blanketed Reno and its suburban enclaves in a fiery curtain as violent winds sidelined firefighters and rescue helicopters. (AP Photo/Reno Gazette-Journal, David B. Parker)

(AP) ? Austin and Sarah Hardage's home is burned to its foundations ? the sad aftermath of an early-morning conflagration that raged through an area of southwest Reno.

But in a twist that played out time and time again across the 2,000-acre fire, neighboring houses on either side were untouched by flames.

"It's just amazing ? Murphy's Law," Austin Hardage said Saturday afternoon. "It didn't even touch either house on either side. It doesn't make any sense."

Their home is among the 32 that were destroyed by the unusual, out-of-season blaze that spread by gale force winds Friday and ripped through the Sierra foothills.

Gov. Brian Sandoval was among a number of leaders who opined on Saturday that it was a miracle that scores more homes weren't lost.

"This was not only a wild land, urban-interface type fire, it was also a metro fire where we had homes that were actively burning in densely populated areas," Reno Fire Chief Mike Hernandez said.

Many families "had to leave in the middle of the night with very, very limited possessions and they are coming back to devastation, to nothing," he said. "So our hearts and prayers go out to those families."

Austin Hardage explained how they awoke to a smoky, orange glow through the windows about 2 a.m. Friday.

With flames speeding down the hillside behind the Hardages' house, they decided to grab some clothes and the pets and flee, joining nearly 10,000 other southwest Reno residents in an evacuation.

"Three computers, two dogs and two rabbits. That's pretty much all we have now," Austin Hardage said, his voice giving way to some tears.

"I'm sorry," he told a reporter. "It hadn't really hit me until I start talking about it."

The house itself in an upscale gated community near Lakeridge Golf Course .

"It's all just glass and twisted metal," he said.

A few miles away, Tim Sweeney ended up on the good side of a similar situation.

"The house directly south of me burned completely down," he said. But Sweeney's house ? with stucco walls and a concrete tile roof ? suffered relatively minor damage when blowing embers got underneath the tiles and started burning in the attic.

"Just about everything around the perimeter of my house is gone," Sweeney said.

"Luckily, there was no real damage to the house except where they had to cut holes in the ceiling," he said.

Sweeney, an architect who has lived there 25 years, said the flames had gotten within 100 feet of his home atop Windy Hill when he "finally had to get out of there." Reno firefighters showed up about the same time, he said.

"Those guys just busted their butts fighting that fire. They first thought they were not going to be able to save it," Sweeney said.

Sandoval said after a helicopter tour of the area Saturday that while the loss of homes was tragic, the 400 firefighters on the lines are heroes for saving more than 4,000 houses that could have burned in the blaze investigators suspect was started by arcing power lines.

"When you see something like that, you can't help but be struck by the awesome and random power of nature," Sandoval said about the blackened path of the fire that snaked along the edge of the foothills.

"It is nothing short of a miracle the amount of homes that have been saved," he said. "We're right around the corner from Thanksgiving and I think we in this community have a lot to be thankful for."

Hernandez said there's no official cause yet, but all signs point to the power lines. He said investigators ruled out the possibility that teenage partiers or a homeless campfire was to blame. The fire was 80 percent contained Saturday and should be fully mopped up by the middle of next week, fire officials said.

Austin Hardage said he's been offered some replacement text books for his last four weeks of his senior year in search of an engineering degree at the University of Nevada, Reno. But his notes burned in the fire, as did a number of homework assignments.

"And I was all caught up," he said. "I had to email my professor to say I wasn't going to be there because my house was on fire."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2011-11-20-Reno%20Fire/id-3e64c6cb1acc4caa9922cffb0119b313

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Corporate Communications, Disrupted, Yet More Important Than ...

Traditional Communications Disrupted: Bigger, Faster, Riskier.
The rise of social technologies over the last few years has impacted the corporate communications department the first and often most severe. ?From angry bloggers to ratings and reviews these departments were some of the first to respond, and take ownership. ?In fact, Altimeter?s Research (figure 6.3) indicates that 30% of Corporate Social Strategists report to Corp Comm, 41% report to Marketing, where Corp Comm may reside under. ?Despite this adoption, these departments have undergone three major changes.

  • Nearly all Employees are ?Corporate Representatives?. Both a blessing and a curse, now traditional corporate spokespersons are spread to any employee who participates in social communications ?even if they don?t ?officially? represent the company. ?Furthermore, we found in a recent survey that the average enterprise corporation has a whopping 178 social media accounts globally, the amount of communication touch points has drastically increased. ?To make matters more complicated, the blur between personal and work usage of social accounts like Twitter and Facebook confused communication professionals and employees alike.
  • Companies Must Respond Faster to Customer Woes in Public. Forever gone is the days of sweeping customer complaints under the carpet, as in an easily findable ?Google world? corporations must address customers in public as many watch on. ?Furthermore we see that the speed required to respond increase, as minor issues can escalate to larger issues within a number of hours. ?Business communications is no longer limited to 9-5, but now a watchful eye has to be put in place, we see an increase of outsourcing to agencies that offer brand monitoring, community management, and real-time response increase.
  • Comunication Crises On The Rise. Lastly, our recent research peering into 50 case examples has found that social media crises are on the rise year to year (see data). ?Ironically, we?ve segmented this by mentions of corporations in multiple ?mainstream? media rags, as those get the attention of executives and beyond. ?Why this increase? ?The media love to stick-it-to-the-man by telling stories of single consumers bucking a big nasty corporation, and with the pile-on-effect from social media these stories glean heavy traffic and comments.

Three Actionable Imperatives for Corporate Communications Groups
I?ve peered into many a corporate communications departments as I spend time with the world?s largest corporations and have found a trend among the most savvy. ? I?ve seen three clear trends which we?ve articulated in our latest report on Social Business Readiness (slides too),?which you should download and distribute today, among them are:

  1. Relinquish Mindset of Control, Instead Usher ?Enablement?. In business school, we were taught to foster message control and encourage all corporate representatives to stay on message. ?Yet today, as multiple business units from support, sales, HR and beyond participate in social technologies, communication is spread to the edges of the company ?not just from executive comms. ?As a result, corporate communications groups have changed their mindset to safely enabling business units to communicate, based on pre-set parameters they put in place through governance, coordination, and workflow.
  2. Roll out Enterprise Workflows, ?Education Programs at Four Levels. We?ve found that savvy corporations have detailed workflows, one insurance company I?ve worked with has multiple workflows in place, including sample language in which employees should respond. ?Beyond creating these workflows, they must be distributed throughout the enterprise through education programs, and drilled. ?We?ve found savvy corporations have up to four types of education programs spanning: Executive team, social media team, business stakeholder teams, and finally all associates. ?Even if the mandate is set in place rank and file employees will not respond in social ?they must be educated this is the case.
  3. Host Mock Crises Across the Enterprise Today. Lastly, we?ve found a few savvy corporations working with agency partners have setup mock fire drills where they approach a week long crises in a number of hours in private. ?Not only does this test the mettle of the organization it provides useful training so companies can respond faster, in a more coordinated approach. ?We should expect compliance programs to eventually require corporations get ?social-crises-ready?, I know of two brands that have already gone through this.

That?s my perspective on what I?m seeing in this space, would love to hear from you, what are savvy corporate communications departments doing today?

Source: http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2011/11/21/corporate-communications-disrupted-yet-more-important-than-ever-before/

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Bundesliga referee stable after suicide attempt

updated 6:19 p.m. ET Nov. 19, 2011

COLOGNE, Germany - A referee in Germany's Bundesliga was found bleeding in his hotel bathtub following an apparent suicide attempt hours before he was due to take charge of Saturday's game between Cologne and Mainz.

The game was postponed when Babak Rafati was found in his hotel room earlier Saturday "after sustaining injuries with no sign of any involvement by a third party," Cologne police spokesman Andre Fassbender told The Associated Preess.

"It certainly looks like (a suicide attempt), yes," Fassbender said.

German Football Federation (DFB) president Theo Zwanziger said Rafati's condition was stable but that he would need "intensive treatment" and be hospitalized for some time.

Zwanziger said the referee's three assistants told him that they had tried unsuccessfully to reach Rafati by phone two hours before kickoff to prepare for the match. When he didn't respond to knocks on his door, they got hotel staff to open the door.

Zwanziger said Rafati was "lying in the bathtub and a lot of blood could be seen."

The 41-year-old Rafati has been a referee for the DFB since 1997 and a top-division referee since 2005. He has taken charge of 84 Bundesliga matches and been a FIFA referee since 2008.

Cologne said a replacement referee for Saturday's match could not be found at such short notice.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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